Penguin India recalls Doniger’s “The Hindus” after groups claim offence at “defamatory” passages in book

Wendy Doniger’s 2009 book, “The Hindus: An Alternative History” has recently been recalled by Penguin India after being taken to court by the Shiksha Bachao Andolan Committee. The Committee, a society that is based in New Delhi, approached the courts calling for the deletion of “defamatory, insulting and objectionable passages referring to freedom fighters and Hindu Gods and Goddesses” in the book..After facing two criminal complaints Penguin India and a civil suit before Saket District Court, the publishing house recently agreed to recall and “pulp” all copies of the book..The consent terms (first published by Scrib user “kalyanaraman7“) states that Penguin would recall all copies of the book sold in India. Furthermore, the publisher also agreed to “pulp” these recalled copies as well as the unsold ones..One of the possible fallouts could be a heightened increase in the book itself; the resultant controversy acting as a highly effective (and potentially profitable) marketing campaign. A soft copy of the book is already freely available for download and continues to available for purchase via Amazon’s Kindle store..Speaking to Bar & Bench, the Committee’s lawyer Monika Arora said that the plaintiffs had specifically asked for deleting certain passages from the book. When asked whether she was satisfied with Penguin’s decision, Arora said that it was not a matter of being “happy” but of respecting a court-sanctioned decree..According to a note prepared by Arora, some of the objections raised were:.– On the question of eating beef. Gandhi was also ambivalent (Page 625)– Swamy Vivekanada advised people to eat beef (Page 639)– The author says Sun God Surya forced himself upon Kunti despite her vigorous protest and later restored her virginity. (Page 295). He is called seducer or rapist.– The author hints at lust between Sita and Lakshman and says that Sita accuses Lakshman of wanting her for himself (Page 14).– Map of India from 600 CE to 1600 CE does not mention Kashmir as an integral part of India..Wendy Doniger’s public statement also indicates that at least Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (outraging religious beliefs deliberately) was invoked against Penguin and the author. In fact, in her statement Doniger chooses to focus on the misuse of Indian laws rather than place the blame on Penguin India. She writes,.Penguin, India, took this book on knowing that it would stir anger in the Hindutva ranks, and they defended it in the courts for four years, both as a civil and as a criminal suit.They were finally defeated by the true villain of this piece—the Indian law that makes it a criminal rather than civil offense to publish a book that offends any Hindu, a law that jeopardizes the physical safety of any publisher, no matter how ludicrous the accusation brought against a book..Doniger’s book is not the only recent work of art that has raised a few hackles, exagerrated or otherwise..American cartoonist Scott Adams recent strip dated February 7, 2014 has also resulted in some amount of friction. A few newspapers in the US reportedly refused to publish the three-slide strip that criticized the Supreme Court of India’s judgment in the Naz Foundation case. Although the Supreme Court has not chosen to initiate contempt proceedings thus far, it will be interesting to observe the consequences were the Apex Court to do so..In the cartoon strip in question, Adams described the decision to “uphold a law making it a crime to be born gay” as “hopelessly ignorant”. After being criticized for imbuing the cartoon strip with a political stance, Adams responded via his blog, saying that,.“It’s only political if there’s someone on the other side of the debate. In this case, no one favors a government deciding which sexual acts among consenting adults in the privacy of their own homes are allowed and which are punishable by jail.If I am wrong, and you favor the government restricting what kind of sex you can have with another consenting adult, please proudly state your case. I’m listening.Cue cricket sounds…”.SBAC and Penguin Agreement